Hyacinthus and the Dark Apollo
by Desert.Illusion
Summary: First loves rarely last, but I hope ours is one of the few that does. Challenge: Step outside your comfort zone. Ama-Inu/White Rabbit
1. Bloodlust

I'm back and with a new story with a new pairing. It's probably the most pervy one in this fandom so far, but I tried to make it work. Tell me if I pulled it off. I also take criticism into consideration, but not flames. Don't feel obligated to review, but it'll be very much appreciated, and tends to motivate me more.

This is FAN fiction, people. Use common sense.

Thanks to my beta, viriditas.

Hyacinthus and the Dark Apollo  
Chapter 1  
Bloodlust  
By Illusion

_Damn it._

"Sir, are you all right?"

_Fuck no._

"I'm fine. Good work, Yamamoto."

"Thank you, sir. What should we do with him?"

_Damn it._

"The bullet hit him in the shoulder. Probably broke the main artery."

"And if it didn't?"

"He'll bleed to death."

_If I had my powers…._

"Leave him in the alley."

"Yes, sir."

_Damn it._

The sun was beginning to set as a man in a crisp black suit dragged a disheveled and bleeding man into a shadowy alley. Several of the homeless looked on in dulled interest.

Ama-Inu tried to break free from the yakuza's hold, but only managed to twitch slightly. He reeled from blood loss and he barely registered a car driving away or the hobos' scraggly hands rifling through his clothing searching for something of value.

_Damn it._

He couldn't even pull himself to a sitting position.

_Pathetic._

It had been six years since he had last found himself in a similar situation and swore it would never happen again.

Apparently the fates disagreed.

His vision swam in and out of focus. _Where did all the hobos go?_ He was losing too much blood. The alley blurred into a mix of grays before everything faded to white.

--

He woke to the smell of seaweed and blinked groggily. Despite the blinding light, he forced his eyes to remain open. Ama-Inu wanted all his senses alert in unfamiliar surroundings, but first….

He smelled more than saw the miso soup on the nightstand beside his bed. Lifting the bowl, he examined the liquid for any traces of oils or powders before bringing it to his lips to slurp down, using the spoon only to shovel the last bits of seaweed into his mouth.

Belly now full, Ama-Inu glanced around the room with renewed apprehension. To his surprise, it was not a lab or medical ward, but an ordinary but relatively bare bedroom. Sunlight streamed in from a window to his left and a bureau leaned against the opposite wall. To his right was a closet and plugged in between it and the door was an unlit nightlight.

He blinked at this last feature before sliding out of the bed. Well, there didn't seem to be any danger nearby, so he padded to the door and cracked it open. Seeing nobody in the hall, he slipped out and followed the soft mechanical humming characteristic of refrigerators.

"Feeling better?"

Ama-Inu's head snapped around. Looking over the back of a couch was a blond man with unnaturally gold eyes. He regarded the darklore stoically.

"If I wanted to kill you I already would have. My master and the others are at work or school and regret to not being here when you wake. Did you eat the soup?"

Ama-Inu nodded stiffly. The man, most likely an eraser, judging by his appearance, was either extremely powerful or extremely careless. He highly doubted it was the latter. However, he was right; if he wanted to kill him, Ama-Inu would not be standing there in a pair of too-small pajamas.

The eraser slid silently off the couch and walked around it toward him. "I need to check on the wound," he explained before Ama-Inu could bolt. "When Kuro-san and Hayami brought you here, we weren't sure how old the wound was. Follow me."

He led the silent Darklore back down the hallway to the bathroom, across from the room Ama-Inu had woken in. The eraser took some cotton balls and alcohol out of a drawer and sat the other psychic down on the edge of the bathtub.

They sat in awkward silence as the eraser unwound the bandages and examined the raw tissue. Ama-Inu hissed when he rubbed an alcohol-soaked cotton ball gently over the wound. The eraser then held his hand over the shoulder and Ama-Inu braced himself for the intense itching that came along with the individual cells stitching themselves together.

"Hayami's healing is not his strongest power," the eraser murmured as he began packing the extra supplies away.

Ama-Inu shrugged the shirt back on.

The eraser cleared his throat. "You should rest more," he said. "I'll be making ramen for lunch. Just, ah, call me if you need anything." And he glided out of the bathroom.

Ama-Inu remained seated, then quietly slipped back into the room.

--

Out of war-trained reflex, his hand darted out and closed around a slender throat. A low growl rumbled in his chest as he glared at the unfamiliar face.

The man gripped Ama-Inu's arm tightly and fought to retain some sort of dignity as he gasped for air. "Do you… want… dinner?" he managed to choke out.

The growl faded as Ama-Inu remembered his situation and he released the other man.

As soon as he recovered, he grinned and bowed. "Hayami, You," he said. "Would you like to eat dinner with us? Kuro brought some udon home."

The darklore stared at the cheerful man, baffled by the way he ignored Ama-Inu's attempt to strangle him. He nodded stiffly.

"Great! You can come in the pajamas. We don't have any clothes that'll fit you. We're all kind of small here."

Ama-Inu trailed mutely behind Hayami down the hall and into a small kitchen-dining room. Underneath a bright mini-chandelier lamp sat three people at a rectangular dinner table who spoke in comfortably quiet voices. They looked up as the two men entered. Hayami plopped himself beside a dark haired man and pulled a bowl of steaming noodles towards himself. Across from him sat a teenager, no older than 16. Beside him was the eraser from earlier. Unsure, Ama-Inu hovered near the wall.

"You may sit beside me," the teenager offered, indicating an empty seat.

Ama-Inu lowered himself into the chair slowly. The boy had bunny ears. A darklore. Hayami lacked Arayashiki elegance and Wiz-dom's religious zeal. An E.G.O. He turned to the last new face.

"Welcome to our home," he said, bowing his head slightly. "I am Sakurai, Kuro. Next to you is White Rabbit, but everybody calls him Yuki. You already met Gabriel and You-chan."

He smiled, not unkindly. Ama-Inu noted that Sakurai had a very soothing smile. "You haven't mind breaked me," he said.

Hayami's record-breaking slurping changed abruptly into a mixture of coughing and laughing, the other two smiled, and Sakurai chuckled, "There's no need for that. Come. Eat your dinner before it gets cold."

He was still confused and it had been a long time since he had been warmly welcomed, but the noodles' scent beckoned to him, and a stray can never resist food.

--

He woke to the sound of soft knocking. A pair of large, almost childlike, eyes peeked into the room.

"I'm already awake, so you might as well come in," he growled.

Yuki crept into the room silently and shut the door behind him. He remained against it, head down and hands behind his back.

Ama-Inu sat up in bed.

The teen shuffled his feet slightly and cleared his throat. "Tomorrow is Sunday."

The older darklore waited. The boy's face flushed.

"We can buy you some clothes. Or we can look for your master," the words tumbled from his mouth in a indiscernible mumble.

Ama-Inu stared at him. "I don't need more clothes," he grumbled.

"You can't just wear one outfit," Yuki argued. "Even if your stay here is short, you need at least one more set to wear while your other is in the wash. Oh, but we might find your master tomorrow…."

In the dim light, Ama-Inu could barely see the pink that graced the boy's face. He flopped back onto the bed and rolled so that his back was to the door. "One set," he growled.

Still blushing, Yuki smiled. "I'll wake you in the morning," he said, and slipped out as silently as he had come.

--

He was already awake when the younger psychic came. In his arms was Ama-Inu's clean clothes, which he left at the foot of the bed before bowing himself out. He dressed quickly and followed his host. Yuki raised a finger to his lips when Ama-Inu found him in the kitchen.

"You-chan and Kuro-san like to sleep in," the boy whispered.

Ama-Inu slid into a seat at the small table where another bowl of miso soup sat steaming. He picked up his chopsticks.

The meal passed in silence and the two darklore soon found themselves standing awkwardly in a nearby clothing store.

"So," Yuki cleared his throat. "Since it's summer, you need something with short sleeves."

Ama-Inu trailed behind the boy mutely as he walked quickly to a nearby rack. Yuki plucked out the first T-shirt he laid his hands on, a red and yellow striped one. He didn't even turn to show it to his guest before shoving it back o the rack. _Simple_, he thought. _Find something simple_. He pulled out a lime green shirt.

The other darklore stared at it. "I'm not wearing that."

Yuki looked at it. "But it's just a plain shirt."

"I don't wear yellow."

The boy blinked. He replaced the garment and pulled out a plain black T-shirt.

Ama-Inu grunted and Yuki took that as a yes.

"Um…" he blushed slightly as they made their way to the jeans. "Pardon me for asking, but are you colorblind?"

Another non-committed grunt followed by an awkward pause. "Only reds and greens," he admitted.

"So what do red things look like?"

Ama-Inu was contemplated the question before slowly saying, "Kinda a… grayish brown."

"Oh. Ok."

They didn't speak for the rest of the shopping trip except to verify which jeans fit and which didn't. When they reached the house, Ama-Inu headed straight for the guest room. Yuki sighed and flopped onto the couch.

"How did it go?" Gabriel asked as he came in through the back door with an empty laundry basket.

Yuki groaned softly. "Why couldn't You-chan take him out?"

"Hayami's shift starts at 10:00 on Sundays."

The darklore groaned again.

"Yuki-kun, help me with lunch."

He made a face and joined the eraser in the small kitchen, where he was set to slicing bread. "Sandwiches again?" he teased.

"Easy and quick to make," Gabriel huffed.

Yuki smiled. He twitched his ears slightly to make sure nobody could overhear. "He doesn't say much."

"Were you expecting anything else?"

"No," he admitted, "but that didn't make it any less awkward."

"He is a psychic whose powers have been sealed for a very long time." Gabriel added a dollop of mayonnaise on top of the lettuce. "There is also an incredible bloodlust in him."

"Maybe that made him headstrong and he picked a fight with the wrong person?"

"Maybe. Do you remember about four years ago how there was a group of hunters?"

"Kind of."

"He was one of them." Gabriel slipped the sandwich into a plastic baggie labeled "Hayami". "Picked quite a few fights with Kaname-kun."

"I remember," Yuki said. "I saw him after one of their fights. He was in an alley and I left him some carrots." He turned to the eraser. "I keep wondering if he remembers."

Gabriel smiled. "Does it matter?"

The darklore stared at his guardian's vivid green eyes. "He's colorblind," he said.

"It's a start."

--

_"Master! It was fun. Hanging out with you, that is."_

_"Ama-Inu!"_

_He lunged forward eagerly, knowing he would die with no regrets. He could feel the evil god's claws ripping and tearing through his flesh and when he fell, it was with a smile. Yes, this was how a warrior was supposed to die._

--

Ama-Inu woke with a start. He didn't need to look to know all the sheets were shredded. He sat up and buried a hand in his hair.

_I need to kill something._

Sliding out of bed, he pulled a pair of jeans on over his boxers and slipped out of the house. He marched toward the city, not caring that his sweat and the humidity was causing his shirt to stick to his back or that his pants weren't completely buttoned up.

It didn't take him long to find a group of thugs lounging around in the red light district. He didn't bother with the usual tough talk and just punched the nearest one across the face.

"What the fuck's your problem?" another one shouted before he too met Ama-Inu's fist.

"Mother fucker!"

He blocked a fist from behind, swung his body around, and smashed his elbow into the thug's temple before striking at another in front of him. He smirked when he felt more than heard the man's nose crunch under his fist as hot liquid flowed over his knuckles.

_Yes_, he thought, catching a roundhouse kick and forcing the leg to bend at an unnatural angle. _This is how a warrior lives._

The scuffle ended all too quickly for the darklore and he stood over the prone bodies, disgusted. Of the five, four were still breathing and there is no challenge in killing unconscious weaklings. He growled. Either way, his urge to fight was appeased.

He returned to the house an hour before dawn and washed the blood off his hands in the bathroom sink, careful not to stain it. He pulled the tattered remains of the sheets around him and resolved to figure out what to do with them later. As long as he kept the door closed nobody would bother him.

--

He growled when the boy entered the room. The sheets were haphazardly shoved under the mattress.

Yuki frowned. "Do you have nightmares?"

Another growl.

He stared at the shredded pieces of cloth before marching toward the other darklore. As the growls increased, he swallowed. "I'll help you throw these out this time, but we only have one spare set."

Ama-Inu continued to glare, though his growls decreased slightly in volume. He watched as the teen pulled the ruined sheets from underneath the mattress and turned towards the door. He stopped with his hand on the doorknob.

"I heard you come back this morning."

He stiffened. "Then you can smell the blood too."

When Yuki didn't move, the dog darklore cracked his knuckles menacingly.

"Not now, I have school." He tilted his head so he could stare his opponent in the eye. "Find me afterwards. Don't tell the others."

Ama-Inu grinned. In the unlit room, his unstained canines seemed to glow and Yuki suppressed a slight shudder. "Don't underestimate me, brat."

The teen smiled almost innocently. "Breakfast is ready."

--

Yuki half expected the dark psychic to attack during school hours and spent the entire day on edge. After club activities he accidentally let his human form slip twice on his way home. Though fairly certain that their "guest" wouldn't jump him during dinner, he remained tense and quiet. For the first time, he finished all his homework before climbing into bed, only to end up staring at the door all night.

With dawn came a wave of anger. Knowing that Gabriel would be suspicious if he stayed in bed, Yuki kicked the blankets off and all but marched into the guest room. The older man was already awake and flashed a grin at him.

"Couldn't wait?"

"Shut up," Yuki grumbled as he crawled onto the bed. "It's your fault I didn't get any sleep last night. Move over."

Taken aback by the teen's forwardness, Ama-Inu shuffled to the side. He barely registered a mumbled, "Wake me up at seven," and continued to stare in dumb shock. After a few seconds, he covered the already snoring teenager with half the blanket. It's not that he cared about the kid; he just wanted to fight him at full strength.

--

Ama-Inu chose a small park for the fight. Even during the day, few people passed it and none entered. To ensure there would be no distractions, he waited until his hosts had been asleep for several hours before sneaking into the boy's room.

There was no moon out, but the light from the digital clock was more than enough for Ama-Inu to see his target. As he reached out to shake him, the teen knocked his hand away and jumped out of bed. He landed at its foot and fell into a fighting stance when Ama-Inu moved to block the way to the door.

"I thought you were the one who didn't want the others to know," Ama-Inu said.

"I don't."

"Then follow me."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Ok, so the good news is that Hyacinth is already finished and just needs to be edited. The bad news is that now that I'm in college (as well as viridtas), I won't have as much time to write for fun. But don't worry, I'll make every effort and there will be _something_ at least every month. However, reviews tend to give me an incentive boost.

_Posted: 25 August 2008_


	2. Secrets

I'm not dead, I'm in college. I have no idea what I was thinking when I signed up for classes that would require two lab reports per week and a paper every three weeks. Yes, that is where all my time has been going into. That, and a boyfriend. Damn all these time-consuming activities!

And yes, "yuki" means "snow" in Japanese (for Neurofeces). Thank you, ShinigamiSensei for adding this to your Story Alert list.

Last time I checked, the site was still called FANfiction and the story was still a FAN fic.

Many thanks to viriditas, who had this edited in September, but I was too busy to actually fix anything.

Hyacinthus and the Dark Apollo  
Chapter 2  
Secrets  
By Illusion

He led the kid to the small park where they stopped in the largest open space.

As soon as they stopped, Ama-Inu spun on his heel and punched. Caught off guard, Yuki dodged too late and the older psychic's fist connected with his shoulder. The force of the blow spun his body and before he could fully comprehend what was going on, the other fist struck him in the back, sending him flying forward. He landed hard on his stomach and reflexively rolled to the side just before the ground exploded under the force of Ama-Inu's blow.

Yuki jumped to his feet at the first opportunity and made a mad dash toward the trees.

"Come back here you brat!" his attacker shouted as he disappeared into the woods.

He wove between the trees, trying to make the most confusing path possible.

_My self-defense isn't good enough. I need a weapon._

As he ran, he scanned the ground for a sizeable stick. He scooped up a long thin one and whirled around to find the other darklore almost on top of him. With a frightened yelp, he whipped the stick out and struck him across the eyes.

The older man fell back with a growl and Yuki shifted into his most natural stance. Before his opponent could finish wiping blood out of his eyes, the teen lunged forward and jabbed him with the point of the stick. The tip sank into the front of his shoulder before snapping. Yuki cursed and fled before the older darklore could counter.

_The longer this drags on, the smaller my chances of winning become_, he thought.

Suddenly, he was tackled from the side and pinned underneath his opponent's body. Yuki twisted around and sank his teeth into the shoulder he had stabbed. The man roared and punched the side of his face.

Trying to ignore the throbbing in his cheek, Yuki clenched his jaw even tighter around older man's shoulder while he groped for something to use as a weapon. His hand closed around a rock, which he smashed into the back of his opponent's head as another fist to his face tore him away from the darklore's shoulder.

He lay very still, waiting for the finishing blow. After a few seconds, he relaxed.

_I win._

With a grunt, he rolled the darklore off of him and sat up gingerly. He could feel his cheek swelling rapidly; the various cuts and bruises pulsed painfully. He glanced at the other darklore and grimaced at the wounds. He groaned. There was no way Gabriel would let them get away with this.

--

"Shit! What the hell happened to you?"

"Shh! You-chan, please? I don't want Gabriel or Ku-chan to know about this!"

Hayami slung Ama-Inu's arm over his shoulder and helped Yuki lay him on the futon. He shoved a pile of clothes off a chair, pushed Yuki into it, and proceeded to heal him.

"You should heal him first."

"Just because he's bleeding doesn't mean his wounds are worse," he mumbled, lifting the teen's shirt to check his ribs. "You have some internal injuries that he doesn't have." They lapsed into silence as he examined the boy's torso. As he began to heal, the E.G.O. looked up.

"So what did you two do?"

Yuki grimaced when Hayami poked an injured rib before telling him about the challenge and, because he knew his brother-figure was curious, the details of the fight. He was careful not to mention Ama-Inu sneaking out or what he suspected the other darklore had done that night.

"So you came to me 'cause Gabriel would flip a shit if he found out," Hayami concluded as the swelling on Yuki's face began to shrink.

"Yeah, pretty much."

Hayami sighed. "Lucky my shift doesn't start 'till 10. I don't wanna deal with this guy when he wakes up and since I'm not the best healer here, you'll probably get a fever while your body fixes whatever I didn't. Take a day off from school, alright?" He winked. "I'll let this guy stay here while he's knocked out."

A wide grin broke across the teen's face. "Thanks, You-chan. What are you going to tell Gabriel when he sees your sheets though?"

He turned to the futon and cried a little on the inside when he saw the blood beginning to dry on his futon. He faced Yuki and smiled. "I'll say I got my period." He laughed at the look on the kid's face. "Don't worry, I'll think of something." _Shit, shit, shit, shit!_

"Thanks, You-chan. You're awesome."

"I know I am."

As soon as the door shut behind the young darklore, he dug an old box of cigarettes out from his desk and lit one.

"That smells disgusting."

"That's why I quit."

The other man scoffed and tried to sit up.

"Easy there, boy. You've already ruined my sheets enough."

He growled and began pulling the broken stick out of his shoulder.

"Hey!" Hayami rushed to the side of the futon, almost dropping his cigarette, but halted when the darklore snarled savagely. "What? You wanna unclog the blood? My futon's already ruined enough." He grasped the wood, tugged it out, and healed the reopened wound before the blood could touch the bed. "Open your eyes and don't blink until I tell you to. They might not be permanently damaged."

Ama-Inu peeled the dried blood off his eyelashes and obeyed despite the white-hot pain and unbearable itching once Hayami began healing.

"Blink."

He did instantly. With every blink, fuzzy images began to appear then come into focus. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well," Hayami announced, stretching and yawning. "It's 4:45. I don't know about you, but I'm not getting up again until I have to."

Ama-Inu watched silently as the other man put out his cigarette, opened a window, and settled himself in the chair Yuki had been in. Within seconds he was snoring. The darklore shook his head but stopped when his vision swam. He reached up behind him and felt a very pronounced lump on his head. The bastard had purposely forgotten to heal that.

--

As soon as he woke, Yuki crept out of his room and down the hall. Knowing that Hayami would have locked his door, the boy went out through the back porch and descended the stairs. He gently pushed open one of the basement windows and slipped through. The mattress sank under his weight as he lowered himself onto it. He gasped as he suddenly found himself pinned to the futon by a growling darklore. He swallowed thickly.

"I shouldn've expected you to do it right."

_Huh?_

The man sat up at the end of the futon. Yuki remained lying down for a few seconds before slowly sitting up as well. "You mean…" he swallowed again. "You mean how I didn't kill you?"

He glared sideways at him. "What else?" he snapped, causing the teen to jump.

"This will probably sound stupid to you," he hesitated. "But killing doesn't seem right."

"Heh. Weaklings don't deserve to live."

Yuki ignored the sinking feeling in his stomach and began removing Hayami's bed sheets. "Get off," he ordered quietly. "I need to get the blood off these before Gabriel comes home" He carried them into the adjoining bathroom, dumped them into the bathtub, and turned the cold water on before he returning to the bedroom. Seeing the blood had stained the mattress as well, he flipped it over and sat down, ignoring the other darklore, who had moved to the chair. After several minutes, Yuki got up to turn the water off.

"Is that his natural color?"

He froze. "What?"

The man blushed ever so slightly. "Is that his natural hair color?"

"You-chan? No, he bleaches it." _What the hell?_

"Oh." He scratched his head.

"Um." Yuki swallowed. "I... we... you never told... me...." He swallowed again. "You never told me your name." His gaze dropped to the carpet and he began to shuffle his feet. "I mean, we can't keep referring to you as 'the guest' but we weren't sure if you'd be comfortable letting us know, so you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," tumbled out of his mouth before he could think of a way to voice his thoughts less awkwardly.

The older darklore stared.

The teen swallowed and shuffled his feet. "Um. Ok. I'm just going to... wash the sheets now."

"It should soak first."

"Um. Thank you."

Once in the bathroom, Yuki closed the door and took a deep breath. _Ok, what the _hell _just happened? We just had... a semi-normal conversation right after almost killing each other. There's something wrong with this scenario. That, and I just made a complete _fool_ of myself. _Argh._ I _knew_ we should've asked for his name earlier._

_Hm?_

He cursed at the pink water overflowing from the tub. Thanking whatever higher deities existed that Hayami used red towels, he cleaned most of the mess up and tossed the soaking towels into the tub. A soft knock startled him and he slipped, banging his head on the edge of the tub.

"Hey, some water's leaked out here," the darklore drawled.

"Ugh," he groaned and sat up, rubbing his head. He reached up to open the door and crawled past the amused man. He stood up to fumble with the lock on the door before dragging himself up the stairs and into his room.

Ama-Inu watched the teen with a half smirk. _Maybe talking to the kid wouldn't hurt._

--

_Ding-dong._

Yuki opened his eyes groggily and sat up. He followed the sound of voices and reached the top of the stairs as Gabriel was closing the door.

"Feeling better?" the eraser glanced up. "Keep your ears hidden when a non-psychic is at the house."

"Who was it?"

Gabriel sighed inwardly. _Teenagers_. "A nice girl who brought you some notes and homework." He flipped through the papers and frowned. "This Takahashi could work on her handwriting."

At the mention of Takahashi, Yuki jumped into his shoes and was sprinting out the door and down the front steps before the older man could finish his sentence. The eraser sighed again. _Teenagers_.

"Takahashi-san!"

A small girl with a ponytail turned around. "Sakurai-kun! Shouldn't you be resting?" she scolded.

"My fever went away hours ago," he said.

Takahashi raised an eyebrow.

"It did!"

"Uh huh. Anyway, I don't want to be blamed for any relapses, so…." She began walking back to the house, grabbing his arm and practically dragging him along. "By the way," she stopped after a few steps, "we've been friends for a while now. Can I call you Yuki-kun now?"

Yuki felt a sudden warmth flood his chest. "If I may call you Kumiko-san."

"Kumiko is just fine," she laughed. "But if you prefer the suffix, go ahead. How about Kumiko-chan instead?"

"Sure."

She flashed him a grin as they approached the front steps. "By the way, Haruko-sempai asked me to give you these. She wasn't happy that you aren't there for club activities." She dug in her schoolbag and pulled out several volumes. "Please tell me these aren't fencing books again."

He smiled sheepishly.

Kumiko raised an eyebrow. "Well, flirt however you see fit. Sempai doesn't seem to mind."

"Thanks," he mumbled. "For playing the messenger, I mean."

She smiled. "Hey," She punched Yuki's arm lightly. "I'm always here for you. Feel free to talk to me anytime about anything."

"Haha. Yeah." He tugged gently on his ear. "So... I'll see you in class tomorrow?"

"Just don't get a relapse!"

Yuki gave a shy wave before going inside and coming face to face with a frowning Gabriel.

"Hayami's sheets..."

A dozen scenarios flashed across Yuki's mind as he struggled to think of a better explanation than "I tripped and fell then took a nap on You-chan's futon."

"...even if they resemble a rotting skunk corpse in scent and texture, you shouldn't wash them when you are sick."

He blinked.

"Oh." A very short and embarrassed silence followed as Gabriel put the pieces together. "In that case, will you give the guest my thanks?"

"Uh...."

"Thank you, Yuki-kun." With that, he left the confused darklore on the staircase landing.

Still slightly dazed, Yuki slipped out of his shoes and walked down to Hayami's bedroom. "You know how to do laundry?" he asked as soon as the older man opened the door.

He shrugged. "Couldn't keep buying new clothes and stuff, could I?"

"I guess not." He shuffled his feet a little. "Thank you." When the other darklore remained silent, he swallowed.

"You-chan will be home soon, so you might want to go back to the guest room."

"I will."

"Ok then. I need to do some homework now, so... I'll see you at dinner."

As the teen turned to head up the stairs, he heard a very soft voice mumble, "Ama-Inu," followed by the gentle click of the door closing.

He smiled and bowed to the door. "Thank you, Ama-Inu."

--

Ama-Inu lay awake in bed and debated whether or not to sneak out to fight again. The kid had never clarified the purpose of the fight and he definitely was not the type to do it for the thrill. He suspected the kid did not approve of the way he had returned reeking of innocents' blood. All "good guys" think the same way and despite being a darklore, Yuki's aura was too light for him to ever be considered "evil".

Curiosity finally getting the better of him, Ama-Inu kicked the covers off and crept into the kid's room. He was awake this time and staring at him with a bit of fear mixed in with his normally neutral gaze.

"I'm not looking for a rematch," the older darklore said as he closed the door softly.

"You seem like the kind who would," Yuki whispered.

"I want to know what the match was over."

"No more of..." he paused to find the right words, "whatever it was you did three nights ago. I don't feel comfortable knowing that you might be hurting others."

Ama-Inu looked away as his face twisted in irritation. Fighting and killing were in his nature. Attempting to resist his urges had proved useless over the past six years. He needed to feel blood.

"Fine," he ground out, "but only if you fight me."

Yuki's eyes widened. "I can't! I have school, and I can't keep skipping! And if we fight, the others are going to notice! You-chan already knows!"

The dog darklore brought his face close to the rambling teen's and growled, "Then how will you guarantee that I won't kill some weaklings again?'

"I'm a light sleeper." He attempted a glare, despite being terrified. "I'll know every time you'll sneak out."

Ama-Inu smirked at the kid's sad attempt at defiance. He was going to get what he wanted. "And how will you stop me if you won't fight?" His smirk grew when the realization dawned on the younger darklore.

"I'll fight you," he agreed dejectedly, "but not on school nights."

Ama-Inu stared.

"That is... um..." Yuki rushed to explain. "I need to keep my grades up or else the others will get suspicious and I can't miss school even once in a while because I'm rarely sick and Kumiko-chan and Haruko-san will get worried and Haruko-san would punish me for missing any more club activities. She's very strict about attendance. Ohkawa-sempai was late one time and—"

His rambles were cut short when the other man slapped his hand over the teen's mouth. "I get it," he grumbled. "Not on school nights."

Mouth still covered, Yuki smiled to show his gratitude. The older darklore huffed and walked to the door.

"Where are you going?"

"A walk." He opened it.

The rabbit darklore sat up suddenly. "How do I know you'll keep your promise?'

Ama-Inu gave him a flat look. "I won't take a shower until you leave for school so you'll smell any blood beforehand." He closed the door behind himself. "Now go to sleep."

--

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Yuki unhooked himself from the scoring machine before looking up at Kumiko. "Nothing. Why?"

"Bull. I was judging your match, Yuki-kun. I can tell when you're distracted."

He groaned and slid his fencing mask off. "It's nothing big. It's just-"

"Hey, you two!" a boy called from the edge of the room. "If Nishimura catches you chatting, she'll make us all do extra laps!"

"Ah," Kumiko groaned. "Too bad Haruko-sempai doesn't make an exception for you, eh, Yuki-kun?" She spotted an empty strip and jogged toward it, scooping up her mask and foil on her way. "Come on! If we do a self-judged match, we can talk all we want."

They attached the wires to the scoring machine and faced each other. Kumiko shouted, "Begin!" and took a few steps forward before lowering her voice and saying, "It's just what?"

"Well, we have this guest who's rather… aggressive."

"Huh." She lunged, only to be parried. "What do you have to worry about? You deal with aggressive people all the time." She lunged again, this time countering his counter attack and jabbing her foil into his chest. A green light went off, accompanied by an obnoxious beep. "One, zero."

The reset themselves and began again. "He's better than me and has experience though," Yuki tried to explain without mentioning anything supernatural. "We already had a battle that I only won because I—he smashed his head against a rock."

Kumiko pursed her lips in thought. "Knowing you, you'd rather keep this from your family."

He nodded.

"Hm…." She suddenly lunged forward, catching him off-guard and jabbing him in the center of his chest. "Two, zero."

"That was low!"

"But not against the rules!" She smirked as she moved back to her starting position. "Well, I don't know about taming this guest of yours, but he might be able to help you."

"Begin!" He threw her a puzzled look.

"You're too naïve when fighting," she explained before charging forward, bypassing his parry, and hitting his shoulder so hard that he almost lost his balance. "You need assume that your opponent will go in for the kill and do it yourself. Three, zero."

Seeing the club president approaching, they resumed the starting position again. "I don't understand how my naïveté is related to the problem."

Kumiko grinned. "You won't be lying if you tell your family the guest is helping you train. Begin!"

--

Ama-Inu had fought many battles and seen strange things, but never before had he seen, or even heard of, a darklore using a weapon. Unlike the other factions, darklore draw their strength from their natural, physical gifts, not from other sources. It was therefore quite odd when the rabbit arrived at the park with his foil, mask, and chest plate in tow.

"What the hell is that?" Ama-Inu demanded after a good ten seconds of gaping.

The teen slid his chest plate on and adjusted the shoulder straps. "My fencing gear," he replied. "I feel more comfortable when I'm prepared."

He gaped again as the kid cradled his mask in the crook of his arm and held his foil by its handle as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "First rule: no killing."

Ama-Inu snapped out of his stupor. "Hold on! _Rules_? We never agreed to _rules_!" he protested.

"I'm making them, so we're following them… unless you want Gabriel and the others to come after you."

"You said you didn't want the others to know!"

"I don't. But I'm sure you don't even more."

The older darklore growled. The thought of getting kicked out didn't bother him too much, but even at his best, he would never intentionally provoke an eraser, much less one that seemed to be of high rank and had a mind breaker to enhance his powers even more. "Fine. No killing."

Yuki grinned. "OK. We'll also stop when the outcome of the fight is clear."

"The outcome of a fight is never clear until somebody's dead or knocked out," Ama-Inu argued.

"Oh, right. No knocking each other out either."

"WHAT!"

"It's the middle of the day! I don't want to scare any non-psychics by having to drag an unconscious, not to mention wounded, person back home!" He paused to organize his next thought.

"That reminds me. Every fifteen minutes we have to stop."

Ama-Inu didn't even bother protesting and just growled in response. "Is that all?"

"Um…."

His growls escalated.

"Yes! Yes! For now."

The dog darklore narrowed his eyes and Yuki dropped his gaze slightly. "Can we begin now?"

"Yes! Of course!" He slipped the mask on and saluted quickly before taking his stance.

Ama-Inu made the first move, closing the distance between them in an instant. A sharp whack against his out-stretched arm followed by a jab in his chest surprised him, but didn't slow him down. He grabbed the foil's blade and pulled, sending the teen forward.

Yuki felt his ribs crack when the fist slammed into his body. Before he could react, a blow to his head knocked him to the side. His hand, still clutching the pistol grip of his foil, twisted and pain shot up his arm. He gave a strangled cry and felt something sticky slide down the side of his face.

"Hmph." The older man dropped the foil and hoisted the kid into the air. "You were better at running." He tossed him to the side and as he watched the boy's body shake from the force of his coughs, Ama-Inu noticed the white lining of the mask staining red and blood beginning to drip out from between the wires. Quickly, and not too gently, he crouched down and rolled the kid onto his back before tugging the mask off.

His face contorted in pain as Yuki rolled back onto his side, gripping his ribs. Blood spurted from his mouth with every cough and pulsed from a gash on his temple. The fingers on his right hand were bent at unnatural angles and throbbed painfully.

_It hurts_, he thought, curling into a fetal position, which ripped a series of bloody coughs from him. _I think I punctured a lung_.

He shoved away the hand that tried to slip underneath him, but stopped fighting when the movement sent intense pain shooting through his body. He felt himself being lifted and carried, each step jarring his body.

The older man could feel people staring at him from behind, but didn't quicken his pace. He noticed Yuki's painful gasps with each step he took and opted to try to soften them.

By the time they reached the house, blood completely covered their torsos and was dripping down Ama-Inu's arm onto the pavement. Before he could knock, Kuro opened the door and ushered them inside. Gabriel was waiting at the top of the stairs.

"Put him on the couch," the mind breaker said. "Gabriel, only heal him enough so that his wounds aren't life-threatening."

They obeyed immediately as Kuro rushed to call an ambulance. The eraser was tightlipped as he healed the young darklore. Gradually, the coughs came less and less frequently and Gabriel stopped.

He sighed and caressed the boy's face before turning and slamming Ama-Inu into the wall with a powerful energy blast.

Kuro appeared from the kitchen and stared at the crack in the wall then turned to look at Gabriel.

"I agreed to let him train with you, not get killed!" the eraser shouted.

"Gabriel, the neighbors," the mind breaker warned. "Perhaps you should heal Yuki-chan's hand."

The eraser ignored him and created a lance out of pure energy. He began to advance when the weapon dissipated. He glared at Kuro. "Yes, Master."

He returned his attentions to the teenager until the ambulance arrived. As the paramedics bore him away, Gabriel approached Ama-Inu, still slumped against the wall. "Thou must know," he growled, standing over the darklore, "if my master did not forbid it, thou wouldst be feeling his pain a thousand-fold." He threw a venomous glare at him. "Don't touch my son again." With that, he rushed out to ride in the ambulance with Yuki.

Kuro slid down the wall next to Ama-Inu. "He's very overprotective," the mind breaker said. "Gabriel lost someone very close to him a long time ago. When he found him again, Israfel didn't need him anymore, and that's what scared him the most."

The darklore remained silent.

"I figured there'd be a lot of bruises and stuff when you two got back, but this is a little…." He trailed off. "Maybe You-chan should join you two next time. He needs to work on his healing anyway."

Ama-Inu stared.

Kuro shrugged and smiled. "The war isn't over," he explained. "Yuki-chan hasn't had any one-on-one run-ins with other psychics yet, and I'm afraid that his lack of experience may be his downfall.

"Honestly, I was really happy when we found you. The only other darklore we know declined when I asked him to train Yuki-chan. He wants him to grow up as a normal boy, but the chances of that happening are very slim."

He turned to the darklore. "I'm going to the hospital now. Would you like to come?"

"No.":

"My cell phone number is on the fridge if you want to come later."

Ama-Inu counted to a hundred after the front door closed before slowly getting up and walking back to the park.

--

"The surgery was a success. Your son will make it."

Gabriel bowed. "Thank you, Sensei."

The doctor clucked at Kuro and Gabriel's clasped hands and sniffed. "Whose son is he?"

The eraser bristled. "Ours," he replied stiffly.

"I meant his biological parents."

"We adopted him," Kuro cut in. "Under my name."

"I see." The doctor's attitude remained cold. Ignoring Gabriel, she asked, "Do you know what happened? Maybe bullies? Kids like him tend to be targets."

"Probably bullies." Kuro's tone was light.

The doctor sniffed. "He'll be in the third room on the left down that hall."

"Thank you, Sensei." Kuro bowed. The doctor walked away.

Gabriel glared at her retreating form and pulled himself closer to the mind breaker.

Kuro straightened and smiled. "Shall we go?"

"I don't like that doctor."

The mind breaker chuckled. "We're still here. Times sure have improved, Gabriel."

"Not enough." He jumped away from Kuro when he placed a soft kiss on the eraser's cheek. "Not in public!" he scolded.

Kuro smiled and tugged on their hands. "Let's go."

--

"Sempai! Kumiko-chan!"

The younger of the two girls grinned. "You look like you're doing well, Yuki-kun. So what happened? Your family says you were attacked by bullies. Did you see what uniform they wore? Want me and some of the other club members to," she took a knife from a nearby fruit bowl and fingered it almost lovingly, "_talk_ to them?" Her grin turned demonic and Yuki was suddenly very happy to have never pissed her off.

"Ku-chan, put the knife away," Haruko said calmly.

Kumiko pouted, but put the knife back. Relief washed over the young darklore.

"So," Haruko turned to him, "what _did_ happen?"

"Um… well," he smiled nervously. "Kumiko-chan, you know how you suggested that I train?"

"That bitch!" she shouted, standing up so quickly that her chair fell over.

"Ku-chan!" Haruko put a hand on the other girl's fist. "Language! We're in a hospital."

"It… it wasn't _him_!" Yuki lied. "I left to go to the bathroom then some guys attacked me."

Kumiko's eyebrow raised ever so slightly, but she picked the chair up and sat back down.

"It's true!" he insisted. "Ama-Inu is the one who carried me home!"

The eyebrow twitched. "OK," she said slowly. "Well, here are notes and homework for the past three days." She reached down and pulled out a neat stack of papers. "We also have an English test on Monday. Oh, and the midterm schedule will be posted on Saturday. You better be back in school then, or else you'll be missing club activities to take make up exams. Now if you'll excuse me," she dropped the stack on the dresser and stood up, "I'll be right back."

Realizing her intentions, he began to panic. "Wait! Kumiko-chan, where are you going?"

"Bathroom."

"But I need you!" Seeing the papers, he smacked them in desperation. "It would help me a lot if you could help me go over these notes!"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Ask Sempai." With that, she left him sitting on the bed looking absolutely pitiful.

"Sakurai-kun."

He turned his head slowly, viciously fighting his blooming blush.

"Sakurai-kun." Haruko's light brown eyes were serious. "What _really_ happened?"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

I tried to make up for my long absence by giving you guys a longer-than-usual chapter. I don't know when I'll be update next, but hopefully this will tide you over until then.

_Posted: 21 November 2008_


	3. Predator

Happy Christmahanukwanzakah! Yay for vacation! Here's my little holiday present to you. It's a bitty chapter, but still over the minimum.

Does the word, "fan" mean anything to people?

Danke schein, viriditas, for editing this in two-ish days.

Hyacinthus and the Dark Apollo  
Chapter 3  
Predator  
By Illusion

"I… I told you! A—"

"Sakurai-kun, you know neither Ku-chan nor I believe you."

He tried forcing a smile, but it crumpled under her gaze. "I can't tell you." He felt his stomach sinking as bits of hope for _something_ with Sempai fluttered away.

Haruko sighed. "I don't want to do this," she said. "Sakurai-kun is a very precious kouhai to me." She pulled a simple star wand out of her bag. "I believe you know who I am now?"

Yuki blinked rapidly, eyes darting from the wand to Haruko and back again. "Sempai… is part of Wiz-dom," he whispered.

"Yes. They call me Little Witch. My duty is to exorcise the area around the school and my neighborhood."

"The hospital doesn't fall into that category, does it?" he asked, sweating slightly.

"No, it doesn't." She replaced the wand. "I'm also not so dishonorable to attack a wounded person, but when you return to school, I will not be so considerate, kouhai or not."

"Sempai…." He didn't want this. She had been his mentor for the past two years and so much more. Fate was not being kind to him. He swallowed. "I haven't done anything wrong."

"You are a darklore."

"But he's a bunny!"

The two teens whipped their heads around to see Kuro and Hayami peeking around the curtains. They each pulled up a chair on the other side of Yuki's bed. "You-chan put up a binding spell in this room," Kuro said." We can speak freely here."

Haruko narrowed her eyes and her hand clenched around the wand in her bag.

"So how are you doing, Yuki-chan? And who is this lovely young lady?" the mind breaker asked as if he hadn't heard his son threatened.

"Oh, um." Yuki sat up straight. "Sempai, this is Sakurai Kuro-san and Hayami You-chan. Kuro-san, You-chan, this is Nishimura Haruko-sempai."

"Why'd his name come before mine!"

"Why does it matter?"

Kuro ignored their bantering and leaned across Yuki's feet. "So, Nishimura-chan." He smiled innocently. "You probably figured out that I'm a mind breaker and You-chan here was from E.G.O. Oh, you don't have to worry about us," he assured her, noticing the way her hand tightened around the wand. "I won't do anything and I can stop either of these two if they try anything."

"Not that we will," Hayami cut in, grinning. "Yuki-chan is harmless and as long as you don't provoke me, you have nothing to worry about."

Haruko narrowed her eyes. "And what would count as 'provoking'?"

"Pissing me off."

In an instant, the wand was out and Hayami jumped out of his seat. He grinned. "Feisty."

A hand on her wand arm stopped her from blowing the flirt's head off. "We're in a hospital, now," Kuro said. He nodded to Hayami, who sat.

"So I'm curious, what is Wiz-dom like?" he released her arm and leaned back in his seat.

She glared warily at him. "Excuse me, I have to be home by dinner time." She bowed to the two men and then turned to Yuki. "I will see Sakurai-kun in school."

As soon as she was out of hearing range, Hayami turned to his master. "I like her. Why don't we get her on our team?"

Kuro sighed. "Don't flirt with minors, You-chan. I'll mind break her if she wants to join us. Now, will you please lift the binding spell?"

He turned to Yuki and patted the boy's head affectionately. "If You-chan goes with you next time," he said softly, "will you continue this training with our guest?"

The darklore hesitated.

"Yuki-chan, I know he hurt you, and I'm so sorry that he did, but listen to me. We are in a war. Gabriel, You-chan, and I all want to protect you, but we can't always be there. Nishimura-chan won't be the only one you will have to face, though I'm sure we _might_ be able to convince her otherwise. If you think you are ready to defend yourself, I'll let you go on with your training. If not, I'll tell the guest to find somewhere else to sleep."

The three psychics looked up when they heard footsteps approaching, followed by Kumiko peeking around the curtains. "Excuse me, I'm Takahashi Kumiko. You must be Yuki-kun's family!" She bowed. "I hope I'm not interrupting. I just need to get my bag."

"Oh no," Kuro said. "Go ahead. Perhaps you can stay and we can get to know more of Yuki-chan's friends."

She laughed and shook her head. "I'd love to, but my mother called, demanding I get home and start cooking. Maybe another time." She grinned. "Get better, Yuki-kun! I'll visit again. It was nice meeting you, Yuki-kun's family." She bowed and left.

Hayami turned and grinned. "I like her too."

A sigh. "She's a normal human _and_ a minor, You-chan."

--

Several nights after Yuki's release from the hospital, he crept into the older darklore's room. Ama-Inu woke to the door closing almost silently but didn't move, even when he felt the mattress sink under the boy's weight. After several minutes, the rabbit darklore broke the silence.

"I told Kuro-san that I want to continue training. Nishimura-sempai also agreed to post pone our match until after exams."

_No other psychic will be so considerate._

Silence. Then, "You didn't kill me."

"Dog darklore." His already gruff voice was even rougher from sleep. "I fight by the rules."

More silence. "You didn't have to save me."

"I didn't. You said no killing. If I'd left you, you would have died. I just followed the rules."

"Oh. Thank you, I guess."

Neither darklore moved. Just as Ama-Inu was about to ask the boy to leave, Yuki spoke again, nervously, but with sincerity lacing his voice. "Why are your powers sealed?"

"Look at what I did to you without them."

"Yes, but _why_?"

"I like to kill."

"And you almost did to me, and I already know that, so don't you think I at least deserve a _few_ answers that I don't already know?"

"No."

"Please?"

Ama-Inu hesitated, but before he had fully considered it, he found himself speaking. "I was one of the psychic hunters six years ago." _Whatever. He probably won't tell the others_. "My master wanted to kill all humans and we all, except Kuga, were happy to obey, for our own reasons. But there was one group strong enough to fight us. Master became obsessed. All she wanted was the doll, but when the doll became dirty, she hated humans even more. In their group, there was this darklore; he was the first real opponent I'd had in a while. When we fought, I thought he had killed me. But I woke up and Master had been mind breaked and the rest of us had our powers sealed. Master wanted to be normal," he continued, unaware that he had already answered the question. He was lost in the memories and wouldn't return until he had told everything.

Yuki watched the man, fascinated. He hadn't moved from his position, laying on his side and facing away from the rabbit darklore, but his voice had changed. Originally a husky whisper, it had become soft and empty, and Yuki found he didn't want it to stop, even to clarify who this "doll" was and what she had done to make Ama-Inu's master hate humans even more.

"She wanted us to be the same. It was easy for Kuga. He went back to the clergy and became a minister at a local church. He even got a house and moved in with Master. She went back to school. Mizunagi moved into the city and works as a painter now. Kasei went back to his hometown in the country and opened a dojo. They visit Master every month."

"And you?" the boy asked softly, afraid that the end was close. "Where did you go?"

For the first time that night, Ama-Inu turned his head and Yuki felt a piece of his heart break at the abandoned look on his face. "I'm a fighter." His voice dropped to a whisper. "I didn't know how to do anything that wasn't related to fighting. I stole food and ate from trash piles and slept wherever I could. After a while, I started attacking people and taking their money after I'd beaten or killed them. Mostly prostitutes right after one of their jobs. I jumped a few minor yakuza too. Tried a boss once. Ended up here." His eyes were shining though his voice hadn't changed. He rolled his head back to its initial position.

Yuki was speechless. He reached out a hand to comfort him, but Ama-Inu growled and bit his fingers. Not hard enough to break the skin, but enough for it to hurt. Yuki withdrew and swallowed thickly. "You—" he croaked, stopped, and swallowed again. "I have great shoulders to cry on." He felt the violent blush on his cheeks, but kept his gaze steady, watching the tears make silent tracks across the older man's face. As the silence stretched on and his face grew hotter, he almost excused himself, but Ama-Inu's next words stopped him.

"Come here."

He laid down on the space the older man vacated. Ama-Inu turned around and wrapped his arms around the teen and pulled him close, burying his face in the crook of Yuki's neck. The teen began running his hand through the man's hair, though the older darklore made no noise. He fell asleep to Ama-Inu's soft sniffles.

--

The older man woke an hour before dawn, still holding the boy. The previous night's events replayed in his head and his face instantly grew hot. He had never told anybody even an abridged summary of his past before; it had never seemed important. But the way Yuki had listened and then held him lifted a surprisingly large weight from Ama-Inu's chest, and he was extremely grateful.

He inhaled deeply, trying to memorize the boy's scent, and nuzzled his throat. Yuki let out a particularly loud snore and rolled onto his back. Ama-Inu froze, afraid he had woken the boy. When he continued to snore, the dog darklore moved up so that their faces were level. Noticing that in doing so he would also cut off the circulation in the arm Yuki had snaked beneath him, he was about to fold it on top of Yuki's body when he saw the bruises.

They were small and even, spanning three fingers. It didn't take long for Ama-Inu to figure out that they were from his bite the previous night.

"It's not a big deal."

Yuki's voice startled him and he jumped a little. He slowly refocused his eyes on the boy's face. A small blush graced his young face and Ama-Inu was surprised to find himself thinking the rabbit looked cute.

"When I started fencing," Yuki said, unable to think of anything else to break the silence, "everyone in my class had terrible aim. It was even worse when people fought against me. Nobody knows how to fight a leftie. I got a lot of bruises on this arm."

Ama-Inu's eyes traveled down the length of the boy's arm. There was not a single blemish on the pale skin and the bones, though not delicate, were slender. Light brown hair covered the arm evenly and he wondered if it stayed the same color when Yuki was in his full form. "Didn't you get them healed?"

"It'd be too suspicious." He wasn't sure if he enjoyed Ama-Inu's scrutiny, but the older man's proximity was beginning to do things to him. And he was still holding his hand. Yuki swallowed. "Everybody had bruises and fought with them. Kuro-san said it was good for my body to heal itself, though Gabriel did sneak into my room once in a while."

Ama-Inu's gaze returned to the bruises, dark against Yuki's skin. Without any warning, his tongue darted out across the fingers.

Yuki squeaked and tried to pull away, but the older man tightened his grip. He settled for lying very still and watching with wide eyes.

The older darklore continued with his ministrations, first stretching his tongue out to lightly brush across the digits then bringing Yuki's hand closer to occasionally suck on the wounds.

He knew what the man was doing. Dogs aren't the only animals to lick wounds, but Yuki could not help blushing or thinking certain… male thoughts.

Ama-Inu was careful to keep the pressure from his tongue light and licked the bruises thoroughly on both sides of the fingers. Finished, he looked up. Seeing Yuki's blush, he felt his own face heat up at the other interpretation of his actions. "Do they… feel better?" _Why was it suddenly so hard to make eye contact?_

"Yeah." His voice was shaky and barely above a whisper.

They stayed in that embarrassed silence for a while, with neither able to make eye contact. Finally, Yuki cleared his throat.

"I should get back to my room."

Ama-Inu grunted.

"I… need my hand."

He released it reluctantly. "I got your stuff from the park," he said, lightly touching the boy's arm as Yuki sat up. "Couldn't get all the blood out of the mask though."

The rabbit darklore smiled gently. "Thank you. I needed a new chest plate anyway. Where'd you put them?"

"Closet."

He watched the boy pad to the closet to retrieve his equipment. Instead of leaving, he turned back around. "Will you… help train me for my fight with Nishimura-sempai?"

"Aren't I already?"

The boy squirmed a little. "I mean… critique me and… stuff."

"Fine."

"Thank you." Yuki gave a little bow and opened the door. "I'll see you at breakfast then."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

So unless I completely rewrite the rest of the story, it looks like Hyacinth will be five chapters. I've already decided where the split would be and everything. It's also possible that chapter 4 will be out in early January, but no promises. I'm not gonna ask viriditas to spend the last days of her vacation beta-ing for me. Maybe I could convince her that procrastinating by editing is better than procrastinating by doing nothing....

Posted: _28 December 2008_


	4. Duel

After talking to viriditas, we both agreed that she just doesn't have the time to edit, so I present this long overdue chapter raw. And since I no longer have a beta, this means that the wait for chapter 5 will not be as long either.

Still fan fiction last time I checked.

Hyacinthus and the Dark Apollo  
Chapter 4  
Duel  
By Illusion

There was no doubt. Hayami was bored. He yawned and stretched across the park bench, managing to somehow look like a hobo in clean, but faded jeans and an old, but hole-less T-shirt. He also hadn't shaved that morning due to being woken up earlier than usual and the stubble only enhanced his image.

Just as he was beginning to admire the fluffiness of the clouds, a sure sign he was going crazy from the boredom, a body soared over his head. His eyes followed it lazily as it arched gracefully before landing in an undignified heap on the other side.

Yuki scrambled to his feet as Ama-Inu launched himself over the bench, and Hayami, and exploded toward him without losing any momentum. He swung his fist forward, but the younger darklore lost his footing on the pebble walkway and fell. Their legs got tangled and Ama-Inu ended up sprawled on top of the boy.

Hayami laughed quietly at the sight before he sat up. "Hey, you mind if I join in? I'm bored out of my mind right now."

"Ama-Inu pushed himself up then helped the rabbit darklore before saying, "He's not good enough to handle me, let alone two people."

"Nishimura-chan is from Wiz-dom though. They don't do hand to hand combat, and I know for a fact that this one uses a wand."

"And a sword," Yuki chipped in. "Nishimura-sempai is the fencing club president and has been fencing since she was very young."

The pride and admiration in his voice did not go unnoticed. "Can you beat her in a swordfight?" Ama-Inu almost snapped.

He deflated. "No."

"Hey, don't depress the kid."

"He needs to know how strong his opponent is," the older darklore argued. "Your form is too rigid," he said, turning to the kid. "In a real fight, your opponent will come at you in all directions, not head on."

"Wait," Hayami interrupted. "So do I get to join in or what?"

The darklore glared at him. "Next time."

The E.G.O.'s body sagged, but he flopped back onto the bench in disgruntled obedience. _This is for Yuki. This is for Yuki. This is for Yuki._ "Need anything healed?" he asked, irritation apparent in his tone.

"Not yet."

Hayami groaned. _So. Fucking. Bored._ His next thought shocked him so much that he fell off the bench, eyes wide and unseeing.

Yuki whipped his head around at the sound of crunching pebbles and took a fist to his face. Ama-Inu helped him up with a, "Don't get distracted!" before glaring at the E.G.O.

Ever the concerned one, Yuki rushed to Hayami's side and squatted in front of him, placing a hand on either shoulder. "You-chan! You-chan!" he called, shaking him gently. "Are you ok? What's wrong?"

The dazed man lifted his head slightly so that his face was turned toward the young darklore's, though his eyes remained wide and unfocused. "I… had the most terrifying thought," he whispered with absolute horror.

The boy looked at Ama-Inu in worry. He made a non-committed sound but eyed the other man warily.

"What was it, You-chan?" Yuki was now gripping both his hands in his own. "I'll try to help. If not, Ama-Inu, Kuro-san, or Gabriel will. You can tell me."

Hayami blinked slowly, the shock never fading from his face. Finally, he opened his mouth again and Yuki leaned into catch his words.

"I should have brought a book."

Yuki blinked. Ama-Inu didn't move. "What?"

"Please," he pleaded. "Don't make me say it again."

The rabbit darklore stood up slowly. He walked towards Ama-Inu, picked up his foil, and continued walking. The older darklore glanced between the boy and the man slumped against the bench. Making a small irritated noise, he followed the former. Hayami remained sitting on the path, face blank and eyes vacant. Every so often, his lips would move in horrified silence, but other than that, he remained still.

They found him like that after their training finished.

--

Kuro opened the bathroom door to see a lightly fevered Ama-Inu about to open the door to Yuki's bedroom. His eyebrows rose.

"I need to talk to him," the darklore said. "His sword broke today. We need to talk about fighting without it."

"Replacing it won't be very hard," Kuro said. "But it would take several weeks to arrive."

"What he has is too flimsy," Ama-Inu replied. "If he's gonna use a weapon, he needs a real one, not some metal stick he can poke at someone with."

"I agree. I'll look into it. In the mean time," he nodded at the door, "please take care of him." He walked down the hall to the kitchen where Gabriel and Hayami were pouring the newly popped popcorn into bowls.

Ama-Inu slipped into Yuki's room to see the boy look up from his book. "Hey."

"Hey." He marked his place with a scrap of paper and set the novel down on his desk.

"The others made popcorn."

"Kuro-san insists on everybody watching a movie together every few weeks or so."

"But you're not there."

Yuki shrugged. "I have exams coming up. And Sempai's fight after that." He visibly deflated.

The older man sat on the corner of the bed closest to the desk. "You like this Nishimura, don't you?"

He blushed. "Is it _really_ that obvious? Kumiko-chan figured it out on her own too."

Ama-Inu nodded. "If you pay attention. The way you talk about her and everything."

"Oh. Like what?"

"The way you're so happy."

"Oh."

The man looked away, realizing changing the topic would be obvious and awkward. He was acutely aware of the uncomfortable atmosphere yet somehow, he didn't want the subject to change. Not entirely.

"So… have you ever… um…." Yuki trailed off, embarrassed.

The dog darklore considered it. The last time he had shared his past had ended with an embarrassing cry session. That, in turn, had led to an unfamiliar sense of relief. He also hadn't woken up alone. He hesitated. "Twice."

"Did either… work out?"

Ama-Inu looked at the kid. He was so young. "The first one was when I was a teenager," he said. "The second one was impossible."

"Why?" All embarrassment aside, Yuki leaned forward in his chair.

"She had… has somebody."

"Do you… still like her?"

He stared.

Yuki flushed and sat back in his chair, shuffling his feet "I- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. I was just wondering if it was your master because you look like you're in pain every time you talk about her or I bring it up and—" He cut himself off, realizing he was doing what he was apologizing for. His blush darkened und he turned back to his desk.

"Master…" Ama-Inu said slowly, "is very special to me. When she first mind-breaked me I was very confused and jumped to conclusions. These past few years helped me realize it's not what I thought before. She is my master. My… alpha."

The boy slowly turned back around. "You're very articulate about your feelings."

Ama-Inu shrugged. "I know myself," he replied.

"But you don't say much. Why did you decide to tell me?"

He looked at the boy. He really was young. "Because I like you. I guess."

Yuki blushed and dropped his gaze, suddenly finding his lap very interesting. "Th-thank you." He shuffled his feet. "So… you said your first crush didn't work out because you were a teenager. What did you mean by that?"

Ama-Inu shrugged. "I was young. She was young. We were each other's firsts."

"So what happened?"

He gave the boy a serious look that made Yuki realize he was not talking to a sheltered classmate with no more than a few years more experience.

"First loves never last."

"That's not true."

"How many first couples do you know have lasted?"

"A few. Souta-kun's parents, Hayakawa-kun's aunt and uncle, Ashika-chan's parents, and Sakaki-kun's piano teacher and his wife have been together since middle school."

"Fine," Ama-Inu grumbled reluctantly. "Maybe it does happen sometimes, but don't expect it to be common."

"I-I don't!" He blushed a little. "But I hope I'm one of the few it's true for."

--

"Pass your papers forward."

Kumiko scribbled one more answer before leaning back and adding her paper to the pile before passing it forward. She stretched in her seat, careful not to kick the person in front, and looked around the room for her friend. He sat somewhat dejectedly at his seat, surrounded by people chattering happily about summer plans and complaining about the test. Kumiko walked to him, a grin on her face. "Well, that wasn't too bad now, was it?"

"Eh?" Yuki looked up. "Oh. No, I thought it was kind of easy."

"Me too, but that probably means I made a ton of careless mistakes." Seeing that he was thinking of something else, she switched gears.

"Ok, what's wrong?"

"Nothing!" he replied too quickly.

One skeptical eyebrow rose. "Right," she said, sarcasm practically dripping from the word. "Something to do with Haruko-sempai? You've acted differently around her since you got back from the hospital." When he didn't respond she let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm sorry."

Yuki blinked at her. "Why?"

"I shouldn't have left you two alone," she said. "Sempai must have said something to hurt you. I'm sure she didn't mean it to though. Maybe she was confused or something."

"Oh, no, Kumiko-chan!" Yuki stopped her before she would get even more upset on his behalf. "I'm glad you did that. Sempai and I just need to work a few things out."

Kumiko sighed, though Yuki noticed her shoulders relax a little. "I wish you would tell me more, but if you can't, then don't." She ruffled his bangs. "I'm here for you, Yuki-kun."

He smiled gratefully at her. "Thank you, Kumiko-chan."

"Come on," she pulled him up and he noticed they were the last ones in the classroom. "It's summer break! Let's go and do something fun before we get worked to death by Sempai! Ice cream?"

"Maybe tomorrow," he said. "I have a feeling Sempai might want to talk to me today."

"Good luck."

Relief swept over Yuki as his friend froze just after she turned her face away from him. "I really wish I could," he murmured. "You're better off not knowing though." He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the source of the binding spell.

He doubted that she would bind the entire school, knowing that there would still be teachers present. He looked out the nearest window and scanned the school grounds. People were moving on the other side of the school. He watched a pair of students walking towards the side he was on freeze. Noticing they were on the second floor and closer to him than an unmoving teacher on the first floor, he hurried downstairs and behind the building, grabbing his fencing bag on the way.

"I see you came prepared."

"You too," he replied, looking at the foil in her hand. "Just normal foils?" he said hopefully.

"Of course not." She saluted him. "Why else would I set a binding spell?"

He didn't salute back. "Do we have to do this, Sempai? I don't want to fight you, and I don't think you want to fight me either."

Haruko waited a beat, then, "My loyalty is to my faction. Now salute!"

He hesitated, then slowly brought the foil to his face.

She lunged forward with a throaty yell and a column of wind erupted from the tip of her foil.

Instead of parrying, Yuki jumped to the side and charged forward.

Haruko sprang back into her stance and thrust her arm forward at the darklore. The speed with which he used to dodge her attacks threw her off guard and she barely had time to conjure a shield to block his lunge.

It faded much faster than he anticipated and Yuki found himself almost impaled. He jumped back and she followed. Their weapons clashed in a series of fierce blows. He continued to back up to get into a better attacking position, but with each step, Haruko advanced as well.

"Stop retreating!" she ordered. "Any more and people will see us!"

At her next attack, Yuki dodged to the side and Haruko stumbled into the open grounds. Instead of spreading the binding spell like he expected her to do, she merely spun around and slashed through his new foil. He stared at the severed blade too long and was stabbed brutally on his chest.

"To any outsider, it just looks like we're having a match," she said.

Yuki grit his teeth in pain. His ripped uniform began to stain red as he stared at the witch. Finally unable to stand her emotionless gaze, he sprang past her and dashed into the building.

Little Witch cursed and gave chase, glancing up to see the teachers' lounge empty and adjusting the binding spell to only encompass the wing Yuki entered. Glad the halls were empty, she transformed her foil into her wand and blasted a spell at the boy.

He swerved violently into another hall and looked back quickly to see parts of the wall crumbling. Breathing heavily, he forced the rising panic down and continued to run. Spotting a staircase, he raced up just as Haruko launched a spell down the hall.

She ignored the stitch in her side and her screaming lungs as she pursued the darklore. As soon as she reached the top of the stairs, she blasted another spell down the hall. Too late, she saw a normal human caught in the binding spell.

Yuki whirled around, grabbed the student, and then dove sideways to avoid the blast. It hit the wall behind them and the force of the spell knocked them over the railing. Yuki twisted them around so that he landed underneath, his back slamming into the steps below. He imagined the skin on his back getting scraped off as they slid to the bottom. He groaned and looked down at the student in his arms.

Kumiko smiled back, her mouth partly open from her last words to him before the binding spell had been cast. A sound above brought him back to the present and he struggled to a sitting position.

"Get away from her!" Haruko demanded, aiming her wand carefully.

"She's ok!" he called back.

"I said get away from her!" she repeated, walking down the stairs. "Put her down. Gently."

Not wanting to jeopardize his friend's safety, Yuki reluctantly obeyed.

"Now step away from her before I make you." Her eyes flicked back and forth between the darklore and the girl until she reached Kumiko's side. She bent over the girl to check for injuries. The sound of a step caused her to snap her head up and send a warning spell to explode at Yuki's feet. He jumped back but another presence entered the binding spell and she quickly cast a shield to block the sudden attack that broke through the door at the end of the hall.

"You-chan! Don't attack!" Yuki shouted before the E.G.O. could do anything stupid. "Kumiko-chan is there!"

Hayami stepped through the door, taking in the damage. He whistled. "I only trashed school in my dreams," he said, clearly impressed.

Haruko narrowed her eyes at the new opponent. She glanced between the two. Finishing the darklore would be easy, but the E.G.O. was a veteran fighter and was at full power. Escaping through the windows seemed very tempting, but she couldn't leave Kumiko behind and wasn't strong enough to carry her either. She quickly arranged the younger girl's body into a more comfortable position and stood in front of her.

"Nishimura-chan."

She snapped her head around and glared at the mind breaker as he stepped through the doorway and past Hayami, an eraser close behind him. At the sight of those wings, she began to panic.

"Calm down," Kuro said, walking slowly towards her. "We're not going to do anything to you or Takahashi-chan. Now just lower your wand."

Her eyes jumped between each of the psychics.

"It's ok."

A slight rustle of feathers and she panicked, directing a spell at the mind breaker. Gabriel seized his master from behind and pulled him into his arms as he created a deflecting shield.

Haruko threw herself on the floor, narrowly missing her rebounded spell, which crumbled the stairs behind her. She covered Kumiko's body with her own as little pieces of metal and concrete rained down on them.

"Sempai!" Yuki yelled as he rushed to check on the two girls.

The witch tightened her grip on her wand and slashed it through the air. A magical blade flew through the air towards the boy. Suddenly, a large figure broke through the window near the teen and slammed into his side hard and fast enough for both bodies to barely clear the blade, which sliced through the wall.

Hayami wasted no time and attacked the Wiz-dom girl as soon as he saw Yuki was out of harm's way.

Panic overcoming rational thought, Haruko gripped Kumiko tightly and cast a shield that barely softened the attack but crumbled quickly and sent them flying back.

"Gabriel!" Kuro shouted.

The eraser sprang forward to catch the girls before they could be hurt.

Haruko opened her eyes to see the green-eyed man holding her and dug the end of her wand into his shoulder. Gabriel dropped them in surprise and they landed ungracefully on a pile of broken cement. Haruko forced herself to sit up and began firing spells at all the psychics.

Unable to dodge, Yuki was scooped up by his savior and carried bridal style as Ama-Inu avoided the spells while making his way to the door.

Once outside, Ama-Inu slowed to a walk. He lowered Yuki into a sitting position at the wing opposite the one the others continued to battle, their shouts muffled.

"Um… thank you," the teen said.

The older man didn't say anything. Yuki looked up in concern and was slapped so hard he almost lost his balance.

"You should have been able to avoid that by yourself!" he shouted. "You could've jumped over it! Or ducked!"

Yuki felt his face burning from the slap as well as his own embarrassed and angry blush. As he replayed the scenario in his mind, he had to admit the man was right and maneuvers were obvious and easy to carry out.

"And why are you in your human form?" Ama-Inu demanded, tugging roughly on one of Yuki's very human ears. The boy yelped in pain. "You're not even in your medium form! If you're in a fight like this, at least go into that!"

"She's my sempai!" he argued.

"That doesn't matter when she's trying to kill you!"

"She doesn't want to!"

"It isn't stopping her from trying!"

"But…!"

_"Sakurai-kun is a very precious kouhai to me."_

Ama-Inu released the boy's ear and squatted in front of him. "She. Is. The. Enemy," he growled. "Just 'cuz you like her ain't gonna change that."

"We can change her mind," the teen insisted. "It's been done before. There have been pacts made for school areas."

"And none of them were kept."

Yuki glared at him. "If your master tried to kill you would you kill her?"

The man's face turned stony and the boy instantly regretted the question.

"I-I'm sorry," he whispered. "I shouldn't have—"

A hand under his chin jerked his face up and he found himself staring the dog darklore's livid brown eyes.

"Don't ask a question then apologize for it," he growled in a dangerously low voice. "I would," he continued. "If it's me or her, I'll damn well choose me." He was lying. He didn't know if his loyalty or will to live would win, but the terror in the boy's eyes filled him with a satisfaction he had once been familiar with before every kill. He leaned in with a feral grin on his face and shifted his hand so that it rested just above Yuki's Adam's apple and he could feel the boy's quickened breaths on his face. "I'd kill you too," he whispered. "No matter how much I like you." And he went in for the kill.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Posted: _5 July 2009_


	5. Four Years

Whew! Finally, right? I know, I know. It's late yet again, but this is the LAST chapter.

I believe this story is still considered FAN fiction.

Hyacinthus and the Dark Apollo  
Chapter 5  
Four Years  
By Illusion

Hayami jumped in front of Kuro and deflected the oncoming spell with one hand and countered it with the other. "She's not weakening!" he shouted over his shoulder.

"I know!" the mind breaker replied. "Get me closer to her!"

"Yes!" He understood the other man's intentions and began to slowly advance, deflecting the attacks as they came.

Gabriel tumbled in midair to avoid a spell that blasted apart the ceiling above him. He looked up to see a desk precariously balanced at the edge of the hole. He looked down to see Hayami and Kuro struggling to get closer to the witch, now crying and hysterical in her fear and he understood what his master wanted to do.

He dove towards her, forming a lance as he did. Haruko screamed and sent several of her most powerful attacks his way. "No! Stay away!" Tears poured freely as she frantically cast as many spells as possible in random directions.

Kuro and Hayami began dodging falling debris as well as furniture from the classrooms above. The mind breaker climbed over a desk and found himself almost blasted apart if not for Hayami knocking it off course with his own long-range attack. Kuro thanked the other man mentally before ducking behind a pile of broken tiles and chairs about ten to fifteen meters away from the witch. He took a deep breath and reached out.

Through the haze of panic, Haruko felt another presence in her mind. "No!' she screamed, clutching her head. "Get out! Get out of my head!" She glanced around anxiously and fired a spell at a small movement.

Hayami deflected the attack away from himself and watched in fascination as the girl was mind breaked. None of Kuro's soldiers had resisted and the E.G.O. couldn't fathom how anybody could resist the mind breaker's calming presence.

_Calm down and I won't have to do this._

He was a tiny speck but was growing rapidly despite Haruko's best efforts to expel him. "Where are you hiding?" If she could kill him he'd leave her alone. As she searched the area, she heard a soft thump behind her. He whirled around to see the eraser scooping Kumiko into his arms. "Drop her!" shouted and fired a spell.

Gabriel blocked it and took off as Haruko clutched her head again, trying to get rid of the mind breaker.

"Get out!" He was enveloping her and she had never been so terrified in her life.

The eraser landed beside Hayami and handed the girl over. "Keep her safe," he said. "I'll protect Kuro-san." He looked up to see the mind breaker frowning as he tried to control the girl.

Hayami closed Kumiko's eyes and massaged her cheeks until her face was relaxed. "I'll tell her the building collapsed and she lost consciousness," he said. "Tell Kuro to just… shut her," he jerked his head in the direction of the witch, "off."

Gabriel nodded and took off. He landed behind the pile of tiles and chairs and Kuro looked up at him. "Well, she's stopped blasting furniture at us," he chuckled despite the sweat glistening on his forhead.

"Kuro-san."

"Yes, yes. I know. Wait a minute."

_I'm going to make you sleep. Don't worry. We won't harm you._

Her eyes widened in fear before she crumpled to the ground as Kuro snuffed out her consciousness. The binding spell ended abruptly and Gabriel quickly hid his wings when he heard Hayami and Kumiko speaking.

"Is anyone hurt?" a teacher called when she saw the two men behind the pile of rubble.

"I think so, Sensei!" Kuro called back almost cheerfully. "There were only two girls and a boy in the building. My family can take them home.'

The woman nodded and ran off to inform the rest of the faculty of the building's collapse.

Kumiko and Hayami appeared from behind a teacher's desk and cracked chalkboard. The girl watched the teacher's retreating form before her eyes drifted lower. "Haruko-sempai!" she gasped and rushed to the other girl's side.

"Here, let me."

She shuffled over to allow Gabriel to check for any injuries. Once he finished, he turned to her. "Nishimura-chan will be fine. Are you hurt?"

"What? Oh, no. I'm fine."

Gabriel frowned and proceeded to prod her gently. She almost giggled at his mothering nature.

"Excuse me, Takahashi-chan," Kuro said, crouching down beside her. "Do you know where Nishimura-chan lives so we can bring her home?"

She shook her head.

"I see." He thought for a while. "There's a local church in our neighborhood and I've seen her there several times," he lied. "We'll bring her there."

Kumiko looked at him suspiciously. "Only if I come too," she said.

The man nodded. "You-chan."

"Hm?"

"Take these young ladies to the church. The one Nakaura-san is a part of. Gabriel and I will find Yuki-chan and bring him home."

Hayami slung the unconscious girl's arms over his shoulders and slid his hands under her legs so that it looked as though he was giving her a piggyback ride. Kumiko walked slightly behind with her hand on her sempai's back as if to keep her from falling backwards. She glanced back to see the remaining two men hold a whispered conversation before exiting the building through a hole in the wall. There must be something else going on, but for now, she would focus on her sempai's safety.

--

Yuki rolled over and beat his pillow. _How the HELL had that happened?_

His face burned with the memory. One second, the other darklore had been furious with him: hitting and shouting. Then he'd dropped to a deadly quiet that sent bursts of panic-induced adrenaline into the boy's system and after that….

A mouth covering his own in a frightening dominance and he'd been so shocked that instead of pushing the man away he obediently parted his lips for his tongue.

He buried his face in his pillow and hit it again. If only he could go back and redo his actions.

It was short and violent and a complete disappointment from the sweet tender ones he had imagined with Sempai and it didn't even spark the tiniest bit of lustful hunger in him.

…So why did he want more?

Unable to take the frustration anymore, Yuki kicked the thin blanket off and marched to the door. He stopped short with his hand on the doorknob.

_I'm sneaking into his room after he kissed me. What is WRONG with me?_

But he couldn't stay alone with these thoughts and there was no one else to talk to. Though conversations with the other man were often awkward and uncomfortable, Yuki couldn't help but feel there was something different also there. It wasn't necessarily enjoyable, but it was the reason he kept going to him as if he expected something.

He shook his head violently. Thinking was only confusing him more. Steeling himself, Yuki pulled the door open and stepped into the hall.

Ama-Inu was sitting facing the door. Yuki shut it and practically stomped over to him, but once in front of the man, he faltered. He stood before him, staring. Ama-Inu lowered his face slowly and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Yuki balked then mentally berated himself for his reaction. "For hitting me, yelling at me, or…." He trailed off with a blush.

The older man matched him as he murmured, "For rushing things."

Yuki blinked. "Eh?"

"I said I liked you. Twice."

The boy's blush deepened. "Oh." He shuffled his feet. "Um…." He struggled against the pregnant pause. "That was my first kiss!" he blurted out the first thing he thought of, then closed his mouth, mortified at the information he'd just revealed.

Conflicting emotions chased each other in Ama-Inu's widened eyes. "Oh…." Pride and joy waged a fierce battle against guilt as the dog darklore tired to think of the least awkward response possible. "Was it good?" Ok, bad choice.

Yuki's face was so hot that he was surprised there wasn't a circle of light on the opposite wall. "Ah… well…." He continued to fidget and he shuffled his feet even more. "It… it wasn't exactly what I'd imagined it would feel like."

Ama-Inu almost wilted at his words. "Well," he said, "what did you imagine?"

"Um…." He _had_ to be glowing at least a little. "S-something a bit… s-softer?"

Ama-Inu frowned. His first kiss had also been a disappointment and there had been mutual attraction and a shy gentleness between them. He couldn't imagine how the boy must have felt having his first kiss roughly stolen from him by someone he felt no attraction towards and was a man. A much older man.

He waited but the dog darklore did not respond and seemed deep in thought. Tired of standing around and fidgeting, he took a deep breath. "Can you show me?'

The man snapped out of his thoughts instantly. "What?"

"The right way," Yuki replied. Deciding he couldn't be any more embarrassed, he lifted one knee to rest beside the man's leg and brought his face directly in front of his. "Can you show me the way a k-kiss should be?" too embarrassed to wait for an answer, he pressed his lips softly against Ama-Inu's.

The older darklore remained very still and Yuki quickly became discouraged. He pulled away, stammering, "I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…. I'm going back to my room now!"

A hand on his wrist stopped him. "Wait." It was soft and shy and almost pleading. "I can try."

He turned around as Ama-Inu stood up. His eyes remained downcast as they stood in silence. They stood about a foot apart, his wrist still caught in the other darklore's grip and he vaguely noted how his eyes were level with only the man's shoulders. When Ama-Inu still didn't do anything, he moved forward and in one swift movement, closed the distance between their lips.

He kept his eyes open to see the man's reactions and was embarrassed and oddly happy to see him close his eyes and press back. At a complete loss as to what to do next, he parted his lips when Ama-Inu's tongue gently stroked him. As it softly probed his mouth, Yuki felt a warmth spread from his core throughout his body and he began to push back with his tongue.

They finally parted and Yuki hazily wondered when their bodies had gotten so close and his hands in the man's spiky hair. They remained standing like that for several moments before Ama-Inu leaned in again.

--

"How is she?"

Tomonori rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. "She can't go back," he said.

"But is Sempai ok?"

He shifted his gaze to the young darklore behind Kuro. "There's nothing wrong with her physically," he replied. "However, anybody can tell that she has been touched by a mind breaker. She won't be safe with Wiz-dom and she knows that. You're lucky only I was in the church when Hayami-kun arrived."

The other man nodded. "Thank you for protecting her for us," he said. "I thought it'd be better for her to wake up around Wiz-dom surroundings."

"She was hysterical at first, but yes, it helped her calm down."

"Does she know we're here?"

"No."

"Could I…" Yuki gulped, "talk to her?"

Tomonori gave him a reassuring pat on the head. "As long as Sakaki keeps your powers sealed." Kuro gave a firm nod.

Nervously, the teen slipped into the other room. It was lit with only a desk lamp on top of one of the many spare church benches. Several of them had been pushed together to form a makeshift bed where Haruko sat, her entire body tense.

"How is Sempai feeling?"

She glowered at him.

He sat down and put his hands on his knees to show he was unarmed. "Kuro-san sealed my powers and we're in a Wiz-dom church. I can't do anything to you."

"You ruined my life!" she spat. "It would have been better if your master had just killed me."

"Kuro-san would never mind break anybody without good reason," he argued.

"Then why me?"

"You weren't thinking straight," he reasoned. "The school is still trying to figure out why the right wing collapsed and you almost killed my family and put Kumiko-chan in danger."

"I was protecting her from you," she retorted.

He shook his head. "You panicked. There was no way you could protect her in that state."

She glared at him but quickly dissolved into tears. Yuki sat in silence, at a complete loss as to what to do. He considered leaving, but didn't want Haruko to feel lonely. Finally, he reached out and awkwardly patted her on the shoulder.

"I can't go home!" she sobbed. "My parents will feel I've been tainted and so will all the priests! They'll kill me! The faction doesn't tolerate dirty members!"

"You're not dirty!" he said, more than slightly offended. "We'll figure something out! We—"

"I'd rather let them kill me than accept help from you!" she screamed.

He stared at her in dumbfounded shock. Was this really the same mature sempai he admired? Overwhelmed by disappointment, he bolted, almost slamming the door behind him and breathing heavily as he leaned against it.

The two older men approached his quietly and Kuro put a hand on his shoulder. "Nakaura-san came up with a plan," he said gently.

"Kirihara can reduce her presence to almost nothing," Tomonori continued. "Sakaki agreed to have her mind break Nishimura. Before she goes back, Itsuki-nee is powerful enough to seal her memories and as long as your powers remained sealed, she won't notice you are a psychic."

"Do you mind?" Kuro asked.

"No," he said, glad that he had gotten some control over his body, though his heart still remained numb. "I don't mind being sealed. It's a good plan."

The mind breaker nodded. "Ok. You can go home first, Yuki-chan. I'll stay here and make sure Nishimura-chan is ok."

"Thank you."

--

Ama-Inu lay sprawled on the ground, sweating and panting heavily after an intense training session by himself. If he hadn't made that deal, it would have been an intense killing session. If he had a choice, he would…

_I'd have him here with me_, he thought. It surprised him a little that he didn't mind the fact that Yuki was male, but he supposed gender didn't matter when he liked someone. He doubted the other darklore cared either, based on the fact that he had been raised by Kuro and Gabriel and only a fool couldn't see that they were a couple. Though obviously inexperienced, the boy had also been a surprisingly good kisser.

But that was the problem. Yuki was a minor and Ama-Inu was not exactly in the same age range. He half sighed, half grumbled, "Ten years."

"From today?"

He snapped his torso up, smacked his head into Yuki's and caught himself from falling back with one arm while other hand rubbed his forehead. Yuki wasn't as fortunate. He lost his balance and nearly bruised his butt when he fell from his squatted position, clutching his forehead.

"Ow…. I guess you _didn't_ drop your guard." One look at the man he realized he was wrong. "Oh," he chuckled. "Never mind."

Ama-Inu glared at him, but couldn't help the slight flutter in his chest.

"so what's this about 'ten years'?" Yuki asked light-heartedly, but seeing the sobering effect it had on the man, he felt his stomach beginning to sink.

"Age difference."

"Oh." He deflated. "Well, Tomonori-san and Tsukasa-nii are eight years apart! Even though they're not together, a lot of people think they should be!"

"You're a minor. We can't…."

Yuki matched the man's blush. "Oh. You… you want to… with me?"

The dog darklore's blush darkened as he mumbled, "Yeah."

"Oh. Um." It was a natural desire but the pounding in his chest couldn't be only from being flattered. "We… don't have to…. Maybe we could wait four years." Even as he said it, he knew it was impossible if they were truly attracted to each other. "It doesn't matter that much," he tried. "Plenty of high schoolers aren't virgins."

"Do you hear what you're saying?"

They stared at each other in tense silence. "You probably don't even like me that way," Ama-Inu said quietly.

"I k-kissed you."

"That doesn't mean anything. Any two people can kiss, even if there's nothing between them."

"When we kiss, I...." He hesitated, afraid to reveal something so intimate, but this was Ama-Inu. He had opened himself to Yuki and trusted him. "My chest gets warm," he continued, "and my heads gets foggy and I can't think of anything except for whether or not I'm doing it right."

A beat. There was a rustle of clothing and Yuki looked up in time to see Ama-Inu's face centimeters away from his before his lids fluttered closed in a chaste kiss.

It ended too soon when Ama-Inu pulled away and stroked his face gently. "You do it right," he softly. "But I'm still too old for you, and you haven't experimented enough."

"I don't want to."

"How do you know you want me? In twenty years I'll be almost fifty."

"It just means the ratio won't be as bad."

"I was a grown up before your master adopted you."

"I don't care. You're not going to win this." He fixed a stubborn glare on his face and brought a hand up to cover the one caressing him.

Ama-Inu clenched his jaw tightly. There was nothing he wanted more than to agree and drown himself in the boy's kisses, but he was so young.

"I've stayed too long," he said. "I need to return to my master."

"But—"

"Right now…." He took a deep breath. "Right now, I can't take care of you and you're too young to be sure what you feel is real, but maybe in a few years…" he tucked a stray hair behind the boy's ear," we can try something then."

Yuki nuzzled the man's hand. "What's 'a few years'?"

"At least until you're twenty. Try your sempai. She's on your side now."

"No. She's going to be mind breaked by Kuro-san's friend then have her memory wiped."

"Even better. She won't remember trying to kill you."

Yuki frowned. "That's not funny."

"I'm being serious." Ama-Inu smiled sadly. "You need to find out what makes you happy and I'd just keep you and never let you go."

"But what if that is what I want?"

Ama-Inu stood and helped the rabbit darklore up. "Then tell me in four years." He pressed his lips against Yuki's forehead. "I'll see you then."

--

Kumiko frowned. "Then he just left?"

He nodded.

She sighed and passed her ice cream from one hand to the other. She knew Yuki hadn't told her everything, but she didn't want to force him. Getting him to discuss what was bothering him was difficult enough and if there was anything important he'd left out, she'd be able to weed it out later. "As a fangirl, I really want to shake you and demand why you didn't go after him." She paused. "Or at least ask for a goodbye kiss.

"But as a realistic friend, I agree with him. Granted, the fact that he said all that shows that he's not a sleezeball, but still. He's ten years older than us. He was almost in puberty when we were born." She stopped to let her words sink in. "Even a twenty-year old dating a thirty-year old is a little weird, but it _is_ considerably better."

"And you don't mind that I like a guy?" Yuki asked, astonished that his friend had remained so calm and collected throughout his monologue.

She raised one eyebrow. "I'm a Japanese fangirl. Don't be too surprised if I start drawing yaoi manga."

He flushed.

"So what are you going to do now?" he returned to the previous topic easily. "Summer's almost over and Haruko-sempai will be graduating soon."

"I don't know. I'm not entirely sure I like her that way."

"Oh?"

"It might just be that I admire her a lot. Some of the conversations I had with Ama-Inu, I just can't imagine having with Sempai. And even when things were awkward, there was something else too and I don't think I could find that with anyone else."

"You might."

"Maybe, but not with Sempai. But maybe I'm just confused." He felt a pang in his chest. "It still hurts that he suggested it."

Kumiko smiled gently and placed a comforting hand on his arm. "You'll be ok," she said. "And when you're not, find me and I'll treat you to ice cream and hopefully, You'll feel a little better."

Yuki returned her smile. "Thank you, Kumiko."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

After re-reading this story, I can't help but cringe despite the warmth in my heart. Though I can see many (and I mean MANY) things wrong with the writing, I remember how intense and happy I was during the two months I wrote this and I miss the feeling. I doubt I will ever have the time and energy to do something like this again, but it was fun while it lasted and I do hope to continue writing little things.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it half as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Posted: _11 Sept. 2009_


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